Soon I will be pulling my TA's on my 1980 C3, mainly to inspect the rubber bushing. While out I know I have options. Rebuild (will send out for that), Replace. Running about 500 hp so not sure I want stock TA's. Looking for suggestions from those of you who have rebuilt and replaced. Current ones were rebuilt years ago and are without many miles on them so the bearings are great and arms are in good shape. But with a decade of little use and possible dry rot the rubber bushings are likely in need of attention. Wont know until I inspect. Willing to spend the money to replace if thats the right choice for the HP number. Thoughts......

 

This is simple.

NOT knowing what you are going to use the Corvette for...cruising, drag racing, or auto-crossing,etc....and if you have 500 hp to the rear wheels...and plan on using it regularly....then ALWAYS make sure you parts can handle this repeated abuse.

So the spindles being stout enough to handle the pounding...U-joints, etc.

AS for a suggestion on what to use. I know that Global West offers some trailing arms that are stout...and then there are the heavy duty arms out on the market from vendors here on the forum.

DUB

 

I went with Global West TAs, much more robust than the stock stamped steel units.

 

Wow! Those Global West TA's look nice.

 

First time I've seen those.

 

The GlobalWest are very nice arms. Like everything else, they had some fitment issues which people posted about a few years ago. Mainly dealing with the parking brake cable. I worked with GlobalWest and got all the issues resolved. They were also building me custom arms designed for use with Toms 1480 u-joints and using heavier gauge tubing for the all out drag racers. They have since incorporated both designs into one arm so they will work with any u-joint/spindle set up. I build and install these arms and they work great. There is no comparison between these and stock stamped arms.
They are fully welded, not stitched. They don't look like offset arms but they do give 1-1/2" extra tire clearance.

Another option is the Ridetech system if you want to run a true coil-over setup. The Ridetech is a little pricey at first glance but by the time you add up everything that comes in the kit it is quite reasonable for all the added benefits. If you are serious about handling then this is worth the price. The Ridetech suspension system will be part of the upcoming 48 hr build.

The stock design stamped arms are produced by two different companies. Bairs and LoneStar. Bairs are excellent arms and sold by many vendors as are LoneStar's. LoneStar arms are stamped from the original GM tooling and have all the characteristics of the originals.

There's your three options on trailing arms. Yes, I know there are other arms available. None of which I would install on my own vette. I do have a special rating on them.... 7 cents a pound. Customer service plays a big role.
Mike

 

I should mention that Mike built the my TAs shown n the picture.

Only issue I ran into with the Global West TAs is my emergency brake cable cable was way to long after the installation. I think it has to do with where they mount the brackets on the TA.

 

Just a cruiser. No track time. u-joints are solid spicers but everything else is stock. Spindles TA's etc. Low miles but stock.

 

Global West is not one I have looked at. Looking now. Van steel, VBP have them. I was going to make jigs and weld mine up when I replace the rubber bushing. I am a bit worried as to the reliability of the rear drivetrain. I know it was not engineered for what I have for HP. Tires are not real big or sticky....for a reason. They break loose before anything else does.

 

Just wondering the solid bearing up front has me wondering about ride quality. For racing I see the benefit but do you end up with a harshness in ride?

 

If you are mentioning the "solid bearing up front'' as being the bearing/bushing in your trailing arm...such as the 'johnny joints spherical type'. I know one of my customers has them and the ride is not drastically ruined by it being in there. I know the Global West delrin bushing design for the front control arms does not greatly effect the ride quality...but aids in the handling greatly. So I am not sure what you were referring to in that comment...it was unclear.

DUB

 

Back in the 80's I went with the Spherical Bearings in the stock Arms and I can say when making a lane change on the Highway I got real good at making lane changes with out hitting the little bumps on the lines. Otherwise it would rattle my fillings out. I have since replaced with the polyurethane bushings that are a happy medium. I surprised that nobody has mentioned tire clearance. Offset Arms allow you to space wider wheels and tires and that is probably the main reason to replace the stock ones. As Wheels keep growing in diameter this is less of a factor, as an 18" wheel can be spaced in further than a 15". As long as your Arms aren't rusted out, and Your not going to put the widest Wheel You can on there your probably only going to have a look at what you have and put them back in.
If Your concerned about breaking Parts the U-Joints You mentioned are the most common. Unless Your 80 is a Clutch Car it came with the weaker 1330 Joints and not the 1350's. This would probably be the next up grade, which consists of Yokes, 1/2 shafts and Flanges, all of which may or may not be easy to come by.

 

The arms look really good.

I just did mine, went stock, except for the rear strut rods, went adjustable. The originals were bent badly.

The 71 is a 350 stock. Used HD universals.

 

Not harsh at all. Rides great.

 

Yep your spot on, 1330's and those had zerks. I put solids in. There is an upgrade from drag-vette that enlarges the bolts and uses billet caps but after that its all the parts you mentioned for a true upgrade. I'm going to dig into it in a few weeks and see where things are at. I expect I can replace the bushings and be fine for now.

 

Well, now I'm curious. Has anyone ever damaged a stock TA due to launch/load with less than 600hp?

 

For a Corvette IRS rear end that can withstand maximum HP, you have to buy Tom's differential 12 bolt, with oversize half shafts, offset trailing arms, and finer spline/larger diameter half axles. I think it's good for 1000 hp. Tom will only sell parts, although his limited slip differential comes assembled--see Youtube. You have to find someone to put the rest of it all together. (GR1999 and tracdogg for example)

I have the same set up on my 70, as above, except I have the 10 bolt diff...didn't need 1000 hp. I have VBP offset trailing arms on my 68 and Tom's offset trailing arms on the 70. Offset trailing arms, and 18 inch wheels allow you to put a lot of modern tires on your C3.

 

Do the Global West trailing arms work with standard length vbp fiberglass springs?
Thanks,
Dave

 

Yes, stock spring and sway bar work fine. As I said before, the only issue I ran into was parking brake cable length.

 

I can tell you that much of the rumor often spoken about poly bushings (not for trailing arms, IMO) but for front upper and lower control arms bushings (I have had them for years) as well heim joints for the strut rods in the rear, have a negligible effect on ride quality but a hugh benefit in control….